WATCH: Woman’s horror hotel racist rant

by Priscilla DeGregory and Craig McCarthy

28th Nov 2019 9:06 AM

SHE'S the picture of entitlement.

An unhinged woman was caught on camera screaming racist slurs at a Midtown hotel receptionist - all because the employee asked for identification before handing over a room key, according to a new lawsuit.

Michelle Rajacic waltzed into the City Club Hotel after midnight on April 6, 2018, demanding a room key, then began spewing racial epithets when worker Linda Shell, 36, asked to see ID, according to the Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit filed by Ms Shell.

In a video taken by Ms Shell, the woman calls the receptionist, who is black, a "ni**er," "dirty f***ing raunchy ska*k," "dirty f***ing hood rat" and other offensive phrases.

Ms Shell, of East Orange, New Jersey, was allegedly "struck in the face with a mobile phone by Rajacic during the altercation.

"After, she kept spitting. I was getting more upset because that is the lowest thing you can do to someone. I said, 'OK, ma'am, it's time for you to go'," Ms Shell claimed.

"I grabbed her arm and started leading her to the front desk. She then broke her cell phone across my face."

The lawsuit claims: "Defendant spit on plaintiff and then assaulted, battered and attacked the plaintiff and used physical force without cause or justification and without plaintiff's consent."

Michelle Rajacic calls the receptionist, who is black, racist names.

Police arrested Rajacic for the incident, and she was subsequently convicted of third-degree assault, according to the suit.

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office said it could not comment because the case was sealed.

Once Rajacic got out of jail, the hotel gave her a free room, Ms Shell said - prompting her to quit in disgust.

"I told them I could no longer work there because my safety is no longer important to them," Ms Shell said.

City Club Hotel general manager Joshua Barbee denied the charge.

"This is the first we are learning of this litigation," he said. "The claims being made regarding the hotel are completely incorrect. With that said, since this is pending litigation, we will have no further comment."

Ms Shell, who is originally from Savannah, Georgia, said nothing like this had ever happened to her living in the Deep South.

"When it comes to anything racial, you have a better chance of it happening down south than up north. I never in my life thought I would have to experience that up here. That's why I moved here," Ms Shell said.

She is suing for unspecified damages.

"While Ms Shell demonstrated noble restraint in the face of such bigotry, what she was forced to endure should not, and will not, be tolerated," her lawyer, John Tait. "We will fight to ensure that Ms Rajacic is held to account for her actions."

Rajacic did not immediately return requests for comment.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission